Training Programme Generator v1.2 - User Guide

Instructions updated for tpgenv1.2 - 27 April 2010

Welcome to the Squadron Training Programme Generator.

Disclaimer and setup
This programme is supplied as-is. This is the latest generic version of the tp generator, and has been made more robust, and had a few bugs fixed. However it is suggested you check the accuracy of the monthly display programmes against the master until you are confident they reflect your master - especially weekend activities Please let me know of any problems or issues you find, and let me know if you have any questions

Please SAVE AS, and open purely in Excel. It should work with Excel V97 and higher (although the earlier the versions may have less functionality). For your own peace of mind, I'd suggest you virus check the spreadsheet before running the macros, just so that you KNOW its clean!! It will not work properly without the macros. Let me know if you want further help in this area

This Excel spreadsheet requires macros to be enabled - the default installation of Excel will desable macros for security. To enable macros, go to Tools > Macro > Security and change security to MEDIUM. When opening the spreadsheet, ensure the macros are allowed to run.

The simple instructions are as follows. If you are interested, I can give you a more in-depth tour of the spreadsheet. If you do decide to use it, let me know. Its free, but please do not try to pass it off as your own work - both myself and Former_1261 have spent a bit of time creating and modifying this!

Instructions
Have a look at each of the worksheet tabs to see what they all look like, and the sort of data they hold. Dont make any changes yet!
The spreadsheet is made up of a number of worksheets.

setting up the spreadsheet for your squadron
Firstly, lets look at the "Config" worksheet - its the first one on the workbook. This is the worksheet you will use to set the spreadhset up for your squadrons use. User changeable fields are in green. The yellow fields are for reference, and cannot be changed.


Now move to the "Lookup" worksheet. This is where you set up your classes, your lecturers, and who teaches what. Hopefully this should be self-explanatory, and there is space there to add (or modify) to your hearts content, and should cover any changes in the training syllabus.
(Note the exact formatting of the classes you enter, as these need to be entered on the programme exactly as typed here, otherwise the staff programmes will not update properly)

Entering your programme
Now go to the "Training Programme" worksheet - the third tab. This is the working sheet where you will enter all the details onto your training programme. The columns you enter data in are columns D to S - the rest are used for calculations. These have been protected to avoid accidental deletion, which could affect the functioning of the program

As you can see, our parade nights are on Mondays and Thursdays - this is changed in the config. On each parade night I've split the night down into classifications the cadets are working towards, with each parade night split into 2 (before and after break). basically, you enter whatever activity each classification will be taking part in, however these have to be formatted in the same way as typed in the "lookup" table mentioned above, otherwise the "Staff" display programmes will not work.

The colouring on the sheet is pretty much all generated automatically, using conditional formatting. If you type greens in the uniform column, it will automatically format the cell green with white writing, same with blues, and sports. These are the only 3 activities which automatically colour - unfortunately the software only limits you to 3 different formats. Any other options can be colour coded manually. The automatically generated display programmes will enter uniform colours if they are entered as:

blues
greens
wedgewoods
sports
mess
STAND DOWN

If you want any other uniform types added, please let me know, as this can be catered for.

(Todays date automatically highlights in red, so that you can find it easily! The days are conditionally formatted to to highlight parade nights.) ***This is not the case in TPGenv1.2, however it is a feature we are likely to reintroduce when we get a chance

The General column should be used to create an overall description of the nights activities. This is particularly important for WEEKEND activities, which rely on this column - these will be transferred onto your automatically generated display programme when you click the big button at the top!

Once you have completed your programme (a minimum of 1 month ahead, however a standard question at inspection time is now "Can I see the next 3 months programme please"), you will see the changes reflected in the 6 "display" training programme tabs - which are "Current", "Next" , "Last" , "Staff Current", "Staff Next" and "Staff Last". You may need to click on the "Refresh Dress" button on the config tab.

The display programmes
Worksheets 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 - Current, next, Last, Staff Current, Staff Next and Staff Last. These worksheets are automatically generated when you add xcontent to the Training Programme worksheet. You cannot edit these sheets as they have been protected, however there should be no requirement for you to need to.

I suggest before printing any programmes off, you go to View > Page Break Preview to allow you to make sure that the whole programme will display on one page. The programmes have been designed with this in mind, however it obviously depends on whether it is a month with 8 or 9 parade nights, and you might need to adjust the bottom page break (by dragging it) as required.



You'll notice a spare tab - the "Images" tab. This contains copies of the crests and pictures (including the crest you loaded) to allow the programme to generate the images properly.

© 2010 - Scott Rae